Around June 2020, economists started wondering what kind of effect the pandemic would have had on the shopping season, most notably on 11.11 (particularly in Asia), Thanksgiving (mostly in the US), Black Friday, Cyber Monday, 12.12 and Christmas.
Usually, this season has seen an enormous amount of transactions both online and offline, but the pattern has varied in 2020.
Despite the grim scenarios painted, the shopping season was more than ever alive. Starting from some of the best sellers — and most awaited tech gadgets
— such as PlayStation 5 and iPhone 12.
Although iPhone 11 remains the most gifted phone, for now, the growth in gifting iPhone 12 — in all forms and sizes — saw a spike of over 20 per cent in activations on the December 25th alone.
PlayStation 5, through a clever teasing marketing campaign — that included augmented reality PlayStation boxes to be added on Instagram — was able to sell out in just a few days.
Notoriously these devices get more expensive at every new release, yet they manage to attract an ever-growing amount of eager buyers.
According to a survey dated end of October 2020, in the US, 51 per cent of the shoppers were worried about getting infected by COVID-19 while shopping during the season.
That did not stop the massive sales; on the contrary, it accelerated the growth of online shopping, while retailers hit rock bottom.
However, not all the blame for the offline shopping decadence has to be attributed to COVID. In fact, with or without pandemic, 64 per cent of the shoppers considered it both easier and faster to shop online from the comfort of home.
As a consequence, given the inability to see and touch the products before purchasing online, one of the main concerns for shoppers was the return policy. Even those who agreed to buy remotely, yet from physical shops, were requesting hassle-free return and refund.
Therefore many shop owners agreed to offer “Buy Online, Pick-up in Store” (BOPIS) — preferred by over one in three Americans shoppers — and even “curbside pick-up” — an option indicated as the preferred one by 27 per cent of the same sample.
In the US the average planned spending for the shopping season was in excess of $1,500 to be spread over the period spanning from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
One in 3 Americans has shopped during the Black Friday — Cyber Monday long weekend, having a 48 per cent of the sample considering purchasing a gift card as a present.
Many have decided to self-gift more this year, including purchases of clothes, food and beverage and big-ticket items for the household, such as refurbishing their properties.
Another spike in sales was seen for items designed to work-from-home, such as gaming chairs, selfie light rings and secondary PC monitors — for the never-ending Zoom calls — as well as soundbars and television sets.
According to Stephen Rogers, Executive Director at Deloitte Insights Consumer Industry Centre, “More than ever, shoppers are looking for safe and convenient ways to keep the season fun and festive. As a result, more shoppers are turning to contactless shopping options like home delivery and curbside pickup for safety and convenience.
This holiday season is going to test even the best supply chains and logistics. Retailers who successfully address last-mile requirements this season will like what they find in their own holiday stocking.”
(The writer is a member of the International Press Association)
STEFANO VIRGILLI
stefano@virgilli.com
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